said.
‘Let’s just get it back to the library first,’ Rose said.
But, as they walked downstairs with the three volumes hidden in a hessian bag, they saw that their plan wasn’t going to work because there was a group of people in the library chatting to Dr Roberts after her talk.
Roberta turned to Rose, her face full of anguish. ‘What do we do now?’ she whispered.
‘We come back later,’ Rose said, pushing her sister back up the stairs with a bony finger.
There was even more excited chatter and noise than usual in the dining room of Purley Hall when one o’clock arrived because Christmas lunch was about to be served. Higgins, who was being aided by two helpers, made sure that everybody had everything they could wish for and there was wine, goose, pigs in blankets, roast vegetables and greens, thick gravy and home-made cranberry sauce and plates were piled high. The candles were all lit and the fire roared in the hearth.
Rose and Roberta tried not to think about the first edition hidden under one of the beds in their room, Benedict tried to forget that his sister had accused him of robbing her and Dan tried not to cast quizzical looks around the table, trying to wheedle out a possible traitor amongst the Janeites.
After lunch, the main lights of the dining room were dimmed and Higgins entered with a great silver tray on which sat the biggest Christmas pudding the guests had ever seen, its blue flames licking happily around it.
Then came the crackers and the room filled with the sound of little bangs and laughter as terrible jokes were read out and jolly paper hats were placed on heads but the real surprise was the trinkets inside the crackers. Gasps were heard around the room as the guests discovered silver charm bracelets, fountain pens and diamante pendants.
‘Where on earth did you buy these crackers, Dame Pamela?’ Mia asked from the other side of the table. ‘They’re the best I’ve ever seen!’ she said, putting on the silver charm bracelet.
Dame Pamela beamed with pride. ‘Well, I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted in the shops so I had Higgins dismantle them all and put in individual gifts I chose myself.’
There was a round of applause and an embarrassed Higgins took a little bow.
It was then that Warwick stood up and cleared his throat.
‘On behalf of everybody here, I would like to thank our extraordinary hostess, Dame Pamela, for this wonderful meal and yet another fantastic conference. You know exactly how to make people feel welcome and you know that everybody likes to be spoilt once in a while. To Dame Pamela!’
Everybody raised their glasses.
‘To Dame Pamela!’ they chorused.
Dame Pamela’s hands fluttered in front of her face as if she was batting away their attention but everybody could see that she was revelling in it.
No activities had been planned for Christmas Day afternoon although there was the promise of dancing in the evening to look forward to. Meanwhile, some of the guests chose to watch the Queen’s speech on the television in the Yellow Drawing Room whilst others were sprawled in various armchairs, sofas and beds, feeling wonderfully replete after having eaten a lot of very good food.
Kay and Adam were sitting in the library and Kay was watching Higgins as he moved around the room, making sure everyone had enough tea and coffee.
‘You know who would make a really cute couple?’ Kay whispered to Adam.
‘Who?’
‘Higgins and Doris Norris,’ Kay declared with a huge smile.
‘Are you joking?’ Adam asked.
‘No. Why would I be joking about such a serious business as love?’
‘Kay – I thought you promised you weren’t going to match-make anymore. I distinctly remember you saying-’
‘Yes but they’d be so perfect together, don’t you think?’
‘No, I don’t!’ Adam said, his eyes wide with horror. ‘That’s the worst match you’ve come up with yet.’
‘Why?’ Kay said, looking wounded.
‘Well,’ Adam said,
‘Let’s just get it back to the library first,’ Rose said.
But, as they walked downstairs with the three volumes hidden in a hessian bag, they saw that their plan wasn’t going to work because there was a group of people in the library chatting to Dr Roberts after her talk.
Roberta turned to Rose, her face full of anguish. ‘What do we do now?’ she whispered.
‘We come back later,’ Rose said, pushing her sister back up the stairs with a bony finger.
There was even more excited chatter and noise than usual in the dining room of Purley Hall when one o’clock arrived because Christmas lunch was about to be served. Higgins, who was being aided by two helpers, made sure that everybody had everything they could wish for and there was wine, goose, pigs in blankets, roast vegetables and greens, thick gravy and home-made cranberry sauce and plates were piled high. The candles were all lit and the fire roared in the hearth.
Rose and Roberta tried not to think about the first edition hidden under one of the beds in their room, Benedict tried to forget that his sister had accused him of robbing her and Dan tried not to cast quizzical looks around the table, trying to wheedle out a possible traitor amongst the Janeites.
After lunch, the main lights of the dining room were dimmed and Higgins entered with a great silver tray on which sat the biggest Christmas pudding the guests had ever seen, its blue flames licking happily around it.
Then came the crackers and the room filled with the sound of little bangs and laughter as terrible jokes were read out and jolly paper hats were placed on heads but the real surprise was the trinkets inside the crackers. Gasps were heard around the room as the guests discovered silver charm bracelets, fountain pens and diamante pendants.
‘Where on earth did you buy these crackers, Dame Pamela?’ Mia asked from the other side of the table. ‘They’re the best I’ve ever seen!’ she said, putting on the silver charm bracelet.
Dame Pamela beamed with pride. ‘Well, I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted in the shops so I had Higgins dismantle them all and put in individual gifts I chose myself.’
There was a round of applause and an embarrassed Higgins took a little bow.
It was then that Warwick stood up and cleared his throat.
‘On behalf of everybody here, I would like to thank our extraordinary hostess, Dame Pamela, for this wonderful meal and yet another fantastic conference. You know exactly how to make people feel welcome and you know that everybody likes to be spoilt once in a while. To Dame Pamela!’
Everybody raised their glasses.
‘To Dame Pamela!’ they chorused.
Dame Pamela’s hands fluttered in front of her face as if she was batting away their attention but everybody could see that she was revelling in it.
No activities had been planned for Christmas Day afternoon although there was the promise of dancing in the evening to look forward to. Meanwhile, some of the guests chose to watch the Queen’s speech on the television in the Yellow Drawing Room whilst others were sprawled in various armchairs, sofas and beds, feeling wonderfully replete after having eaten a lot of very good food.
Kay and Adam were sitting in the library and Kay was watching Higgins as he moved around the room, making sure everyone had enough tea and coffee.
‘You know who would make a really cute couple?’ Kay whispered to Adam.
‘Who?’
‘Higgins and Doris Norris,’ Kay declared with a huge smile.
‘Are you joking?’ Adam asked.
‘No. Why would I be joking about such a serious business as love?’
‘Kay – I thought you promised you weren’t going to match-make anymore. I distinctly remember you saying-’
‘Yes but they’d be so perfect together, don’t you think?’
‘No, I don’t!’ Adam said, his eyes wide with horror. ‘That’s the worst match you’ve come up with yet.’
‘Why?’ Kay said, looking wounded.
‘Well,’ Adam said,
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